The 39th Annual Fall Meeting of the American Physiological Society scheduled for October 9-14, 1988, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, will focus on the theme, "Growth, Development and Aging." The forty-six speakers participating in the seven symposia associated with the theme will attempt to define the state-of-the-science through reports, personal communication, synthesis of past and current concepts and suggestion for future research. Individual theme sessions will focus on nutritional approaches to the study of aging; age-related changes in excitation-contraction coupling; thermoregulation; effects of age on brain neurotransmitters; effects of exercise on growth and development; angiogenic growth factors; and age-related changes in adrenergic control of the cardiovascular system. The 39th APS Annual Fall Meeting represents the first time the Society has focused an entire meeting on "Growth, Development and Aging." By convening a group of leading research scientists to discuss this topic it is hoped that new investigators and students will become interested in pursuing research opportunities in these areas. This meeting will demonstrate that significant advances in understanding have been made in these areas which should lead to further gains in biomedical knowledge.